you’re looking for something more
intense, do the salt bake,” making a
crust of salt, water, and flour that keeps
the moisture in and allows you to steam
the vegetable. “If you’re looking for
something when you’re not sure about
liking kohlrabi, then you can poach and
add flavors that will balance out characteristics you don’t like,” he suggests.

The Black Sheep often has a poached
kohlrabi dish on the menu when the vegetable is in season. The Middle Eastern
spin is seasoned with turmeric to provide a nice yellow color and some sweetness. The veggie is paired with a spicy
green harissa, rich burnt orange sauce,
dukkah (a nut and spice mix), and sumac
yogurt. The preparation is visually stunning, as well as a great contrast of flavors
and textures, with the hearty kohlrabi
tying it altogether.

To get started with kohlrabi at home,Gedra advises eating it raw. “That’s itspurest form, obviously, so you’ll know ifyou hate it or not,” he says. “It’s cheapenough to play around with.”Kohlrabi can be found at farmers mar-kets, in CSA farm share-bags, and evenin local supermarkets from time to time.

Nick Guy is an editor for Wirecutter and writesfor other publications.

“Kohlrabi is a ‘cole crop’,” says Emily
Porter Swarner, promotions/marketing
coordinator for Porter Farms in Elba.
That means it’s a member of the mustard
family and related to cabbage, broccoli,
cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. Steve
Gedra, chef and owner of The Black
Sheep, compared it to another close relative, the turnip, crossed with celery root
and a bit of radish. It may look like a
tuber, but the main “bulb” of the kohlrabi is actually the swollen stem. Common
color variants are similar to cabbage,
including light green and purple.

“We started growing kohlrabi aboutfive years ago, mostly because it wasbecoming popular,” says Porter Swar-ner. “Our wholesale accounts were get-ting requests for it, so we decided to giveit a try.” Kohlrabi is generally in seasonaround September. Porter Farms is ableto offer it in late summer and fall as it“grows best in cool weather.”As for their favorite preparations,both Porter Swarner and Gedra say theylike to eat it raw. “I typically cut it uplike carrot sticks, and my eight-year-olddaughter will dip the sticks in hummus,”says the former. “It also tastes great rawin ‘kohl-slaw,’ like a typical cabbage slaw,but the taste is sweeter.”Gedra recommends, “If you wantrefreshing, do a cold preparation. If

What We Want/KohlrabiBY NICK GUYUnless you’re the kind of person who likes to pick up the“what is that?” produce at your local farmers market or youhave a CSA share, there’s a fair chance you haven’t comeacross kohlrabi. The vegetable’s popularity has grown over thepast half decade, but it still lags behind more staple veggieslike peppers and beans and even en vogue greens such as kale.That’s a shame, as it’s a tasty treat raw, and, with a little love,something really special cooked.